a medical librarian's adventures in evidence-based living

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May 06, 2010

Plant-Based Diets in Clinical Practice: A Workshop Sponsored by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine

If you've received this post via email, click here for the web-version with all the links.

I'm always interested in hearing about the health benefits of plant-based diets from physicians who are out there doing research on the subject--as well as from physicians who see their own patients benefit when they switch to plant-based eating.

Five presenters--all pioneers in nutrition-based preventive medicine share their research and discoveries in the areas of cancer prevention, the safety of soy, diabetes management, the benefits of a starch-based diet, and the dramatic effects that lifestyle changes can have on health.

Take a closer and see what you think.

Here's a link to Janice Stanger's summary of the PCRM Workshop--Linking Nutrition and Health: 25 Expert Tips. You can find each speaker's Power Point presentations below.

Lawrence H. Kushi, Sc.D., is the associate director for etiology and
prevention research, division of research, Kaiser Permanente Northern
California. His research interests have focused on the role of food and
nutrition in the development, prevention, and prognosis of chronic
diseases, including breast and other cancers. Dr. Kushi is currently the principal investigator of two NIH-funded prospective cohort studies on breast cancer.

1. The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research report reinforces the importance of a varied whole foods, plant-based diet, physical activity, and lean weight in preventing and fighting cancer.

Mark Messina, Ph.D., M.S., is the co-owner of Nutrition Matters Inc., a
nutrition consulting company, an adjunct associate professor at Loma
Linda University, and the executive director of the Soy Nutrition
Institute. He is a former program director with the National Cancer
Institute (NCI), where he initiated a research program on the
anticancer effects of soy.

1. People in China and Japan have been consuming soy foods for thousands of years, with no associated issues with health or fertility.

2. Much of the confusion about soy centers on isoflavones which are unique to soy foods. Isoflavones, which bind to estrogen receptors, have different effects in different parts of the body. These substances are generally health protective or neutral.

3. Soy protein lowers both cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. This food helps the inner walls of your arteries function better, especially if you already have cardiovascular disease.

4. Girls lucky enough to be raised with significant amounts of soy in their diets have a permanent, lifelong reduction in their risk of developing breast cancer. Adult women can safely enjoy soy, but do not get the same protective effect.

Neal D. Barnard, M.D., is a nutrition researcher, author, and health
advocate. As an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George
Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Barnard conducts studies
on the role of nutrition in diabetes, obesity, and lipid management,
among other health issues.

1. People eating a plant-based diet enjoy permanent weight loss. The most effective approach is to abandon calorie restriction and focus instead on the kinds of foods you eat.

2. If you are diabetic and go on a whole foods, plant-based diet,
keep your doctor’s phone number handy. Your health will improve so much
that you will need to adjust your medications to avoid low blood sugar.

3. Dairy foods are a powerful trigger for joint pain.

4. Fat inside of muscle cells keeps insulin from doing its job of
getting glucose into the cell. Glucose is the muscle cell’s fuel. Those
on plant-based diets have less fat inside their muscle cells than
meat-eaters do, independent of their overall weight.

5. Although it can take several weeks to adjust to, people who move
up to a plant-based diet generally like it a lot. Dr. Barnard
recommends a step approach to dietary change. First, try out new
plant-based recipes or convenience foods and see what you like. Second,
give the plant-based diet a three week test drive. It’s critical not to
eat animal foods during this time so your tastes have time to change.
Finally, link up with social support for your new diet. Many support
groups are online, or find one in your community.

The Starch Solution

John A. McDougall, M.D., is a physician and nutrition expert who
teaches better health through vegetarian cuisine. He has been studying,
writing, and “speaking out” about the effects of nutrition on disease
for more than 30 years.

1.Humans are designed to thrive on starch-based foods, including whole
grains, beans, and potatoes. All large populations of trim, healthy
people throughout verifiable human history have obtained the bulk of
their calories from starches.

2. Since the brain burns glucose, a starch-based diet was the foundation for the evolution of the large human brain.

3. Amylase, a major enzyme in saliva, is designed to start digesting
the starch in your food as you chew it. Starch is clean fuel and plant
diseases do not attack people.

The Transformative Power of Lifestyle Changes

Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the nonprofit
Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., where he
holds the Safeway Chair. He is clinical professor of medicine at the
University of California, San Francisco. For over 32 years, Dr. Ornish has directed clinical research
demonstrating, for the first time, that comprehensive lifestyle changes
may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs
or surgery.

His Presentation: The Transformative Power of Lifestyle Changes (Power Point slides are unavailable)

1. Avoid false choices, such as “would you rather live longer or have more
fun.” You can live longer and have more fun at the same time.

2. Once you adopt a whole foods, plant-based diet you will start feeling
and seeing results very quickly. This gratification will keep you
motivated. The amount of dietary change determines your amount of
improvement. How old or sick you were initially doesn’t matter.

3. Improved lifestyle for just three months improves how your genes are
expressed. Any genes that might dispose you to cancer are turned down
or turned off.

Comments

This is another of your incredibly useful posts. Thank you for finding this informational resource. I'm curious about Dr. Barnard's statement about dairy and joint pain. Did he give more references in his presentation? Do you know anything more about this? I'm curious because I've given up cow dairy with extraordinary improvement in my joint pain. I really miss it as the occasional treat, but I have to steer 100% clear of it. I'm also curious about how soy milk fits into the soy food category-highly processed? Sure is full of sugar, but again it's a tasty substitute for that cow dairy.
Cynthia Bailey MDhttp://www.otbskincare.com/blog/are-you-really-getting-vitamin-d-from-the-sun-or-just-nuking-your-dna/1647/

FINALLY someone has pointed out that every culture has used some form of "starch" as the basis of their diet- and were sometimes forced to live only on that starch. I am 5'8"tall, 58 yrs old and thin- and I have always eaten a diet heavy on grains (whole, of course).Carbohydrates are not the food of the devil!